Hatch Lambastes Obama Administration Commitment to Trade, IPR Protection
The Obama Administration repeatedly demonstrates a reluctance to embrace Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and an unwillingness to muster support for the legislation among Democratic congressional ranks, said Senate Finance Committee ranking member Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, speaking at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event on Jan. 29. The president “barely mentioned” TPA in his State of the Union address, said Hatch. The administration is also not employing strength to garner support, said Hatch, noting U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman declined to testify at a Finance committee hearing on the legislation this month (see 14011616). The lack of commitment jeopardizes U.S. participation in final Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) trade pacts, said Hatch.
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“In truth, it will be virtually impossible for the administration to conclude these agreements without TPA,” said Hatch. “Republicans, by and large, support renewing TPA because we support free trade. It’s the Democrats that need to fall in line. And, to put it bluntly, they’re never going to fall in line unless the President shows more leadership on this issue.” President Obama did not explicitly endorse or reject the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities Act of 2014, co-sponsored by Hatch, in his address (see 14012913).
The administration is also failing to sufficiently address intellectual property rights (IPR) infringement globally, said Hatch, claiming his TPA legislation would bring “robust” rules on that front. ”When it comes to intellectual property protection as part of U.S. trade policy, I am genuinely worried that the Obama Administration simply does not get it,” said Hatch. “The Administration prides itself on enforcement. But, when it comes to protecting our intellectual property rights around the globe I am increasing skeptical.” Hatch spoke at a Chamber of Commerce Global Intellectual Property Center event held for the release of its annual International IP Index.
The Indian government is threatening the most basic principles of intellectual property rights protection, and the Obama Administration is not responding accordingly, said Hatch. “The government of India has granted a compulsory license to its domestic industry so it can freely manufacture generic copies of a patented product merely because the product had not been ‘worked,’ or manufactured, in India,” said Hatch. “And India continues to arbitrarily invalidate legitimate patents held by U.S. companies by creating an extraneous requirement for patentability that’s out of step with the rest of the world. Worst of all, there’s nothing in India’s patent law that limits this to pharmaceuticals -- jet engines or cell phones could be next.”
The Chinese government is also increasingly coercing foreign companies into disclosing trade secrets in exchange for market access. Moreover, TPP-participant nation Chile annually fails to meet its IPR protection obligations set forth in the U.S. - Chile Free Trade Agreement, and the Obama administration refuses to push the issue in dispute settlement, said Hatch. “Rather than press our intellectual property rights in Chile, this Administration chose to expend our scarce government resources litigating labor issues in Guatemala,” said Hatch. “There also remains some serious question as to whether the administration will even pursue an intellectual property rights chapter in our negotiations with the European Union.”